The Transformation
by Eryn.bc
Summary: Naruto leaves the Leaf because his seal is weakening. No one knows where he went or what he's been doing over the years. Now 5 years later, Naruto returns to leaf completely different...
1. Chapter one

Title: The Transformation

Pairing: Not confirmed yet, open for suggestions

Rating: PG-13 - R

Summary: Naruto leaves the Leaf because his seal is weakening. No one knows where he went or what he's been doing over the years. Now 5 years later, Naruto returns to leaf completely different but in what sense???

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto this is merely for entertainment purposes.

A/N: This is my second attempt at this story. The plot will basically be the same, but some events maybe be changed.

'_Italic' _Thoughts

"…." Speech

CHAPTER ONE

0.0

The sky was tinted with crimson rays as the sun slowly descended to the will of the night, bringing forth darkness. A lone figure perched on a branch of a tree overlooking the gates of Konoha. Nothing seemed to have changed, the gates stood tall despite everything it had been through.

The guards stationed at the gates shifted slightly as the stranger approached. It was always common for spies to sneak in when it was nearing dusk, especially in times such as these, with missing-nin becoming more prevalent, Orochimaru and Akatsuki still on the loose. It was always better to be careful than sorry.

"Halt. Who are you? State your grounds for entering Konoha."

"Who I am is of no importance to you. I've just completed my long-term mission and would like to see the Hokage to submit my report as soon as possible. Now I would really appreciate it if you would be so kind as to move aside so that I can pass through." the stranger stated dripping with distaste.

"How can we be sure that you are who you claimed to be? For all we know you may be a spy or a missing-nin. We would require some identification before we could allow you to pass through the gates." the jounin replied.

The stranger took out a pass and a scroll and handed over to the guards. The contents in the scroll and the pass were more than sufficient to confirm that that the stranger in front of them was a fellow leaf shinobi.

"I'm sorry but in times such as these no one can afford to take things lightly, I hope you do understand. Here are your things, welcome back." the guard said, slightly embarrassed and bowed slightly while the other guard went to open the gate.

With that the stranger disappeared into the inky darkness.

0.0

The feeling of being home assaulted the person's senses causing a small smile to form on the face of the stranger as he strolled into the heart of Konoha. His smile widened a slight bit as he take in the familiar sights, Orochimaru's invasion five years ago had not left any lasting effects on either the building or the economy. He was heading towards the Hokage tower with one thought in his mind, '_Guess I should inform the old hag first that I'm back before heading over to Ichiraku. Oh… I can't wait to sink my teeth into a huge bowl of miso ramen. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water…_'

0.0

Tsunade was sleeping behind piles of paperwork stacked on her desk that was threatening to topple over. The paperwork however was able to shield her from view giving the illusion that she _may_ just working. She woke up shortly after sensing someone familiar and smiled at the person that was hidden in the shadows.

"Naruto! You're back! Oh, it's been so long!" The person stepped out of the shadows allowing the Hokage to have a better look.

"Tsunade-baba! You're suffocating me!"

She released him reluctantly but held him by the shoulders to allow her to have a better glance at him which caused her to gasp. The teenager in front of her was nothing of the Naruto she knew 5 years ago.

Gone was the simple-minded looking brat with the messiest blond mop of hair that resembles a bird nest and the dumbest grin plastered on his face. The man in front of her radiated a sense of tranquility and confidence that strangely reminded her of Yondaime. His cerulean blue eyes resembled the cloudless afternoon sky while his thick, straight blond hair was worn in a fashionable style. Although he had grown taller, he was still shorter than most guys his age. Added to his slender build, he was almost effeminate that one might just think that he was more of a she from the back.

Tsunade couldn't help but stared at this whole new Naruto. '_Something seems to be amiss though, but I can't seem to place a finger on it.'_ She shrugged thinking what ever it was could wait. Now the most important matter was to find out what happen over these 5 years.

"What the hell happened? After that note stating you're fine, there was completely _no_ news from you since three years ago _even_ Jiraiya didn't know what's going on with you ever since both of you were separated. You could have spared a few moments to tell me how you were coming along, brat." She screamed then pulled back to smack Naruto over the head hard.

"Ow! You didn't have to hit me _that_ hard you know!" He protested, nursing his throbbing head.

"First thing first, is the _problem_ solved?"

"Yeah, duh why did you think I came back for? Anyway I've to tell you something beforehand and promise me you won't freak out."

She nodded knowing probably what he was about to say before allowing Naruto to continue.

"You know that the Fourth sealed the Kyuubi in me right? But what the rest didn't know was that after it was sealed in me, Kyuubi actually altered my body into a girl to accommodate him…"

----FLASHBACK----

The Fourth had just sacrificed his life by sealing the nine-tailed fox demon into the newborn, hoping that the people would see his babe as a hero who was sacrificed to contain the Kyuubi in turn saving the village from being destroyed.

However, things never seemed to go the way people wanted. For instance, the newborn had just transformed into a girl!!! The third and the other two sennins could only stare at the bundle that was once a boy. After a moment silence, the blond female sennin finally spoke, "I think I can explain the situation here." The other two could only nodded signalling her to continue.

"I remembered that my sensei once told me that everything in life must have an equal balance of Yin and Yang. The Yin and Yang represents all the opposite principles one would find in the universe. Yang is the principles of maleness, the sun, creation, heat, light, Heaven and dominance while Yin is the principles of femaleness, the moon, completion, cold, darkness, material forms and submission.

If one is stronger then the other, the balance will be disrupted and nature being the core of balance will correct whatever mistake that has been made. As you can see, the Kyuubi that has been sealed was a male while the baby…was a boy. The balance was disrupted when Kyuubi was sealed causing an increase in Yang than Yin. Therefore in order to _correct_ this mistake, nature had transformed the child here into a girl in for the balance to be restored.

However most often people would die or go insane before the transformation is completed. Only people with _the blood_ are able to survive the change as it does great damage to both demon and host. I guess this was the reason why the Fourth chose his son knowing that he would survive the fate of insanity."

The younger of the two men that had been listening spoke solemnly, "You two should know as well as I do that the villagers knew that the baby chosen was a boy but now given this new situation. I think it is best for everyone if we seal her in a boy form until a time when she is ready to protect herself by then she would be able to release the seal herself…."

"Yes. Who knows what will happen if the villagers were to find out that the Kyuubi holder is a girl. I'll do the jutsu, this secret will only be known to the three of us not even Naruto is allowed to know." The Third said sadly, knowing fully that the villager would never see this baby as the hero her father had wanted.

----END OF FLASBACK----

0.0

'_Seventeen years, this secret has always been on my mind. I can't recall the number of times I almost slip up and told him what exactly happened that night, the secret that only the Third, Jiraiya and I know about….'_

"Tsunade-baba!!! Tsunade-baba are you listening?" Naruto pouted, pissed that the old hag was off in her own world while he was explaining.

"Huh… Yeah I've been listening, and STOP calling me a baba!"

"As I was saying, I found someone who could strengthen the seal for me three years ago. And by doing so, I learnt of my truesexuality." Naruto lifted his shirt allowing the Fifth to see the seal over his stomach.

The first thing the Fifth noticed was that the seal was no longer flat on his abdomen when Naruto exerted his chakra to the area, it was now 3-Dimensional with the addition of ancient symbols around the spiral seal some of which she could not recognise.

"As you can see the seal is very stable _so_ I would say that the problem has been solved." Naruto beamed showing his signature smile once more.

"Now that _that's_ been settled, can you release the Henge no jutsu so that I could see _how_ you look beneath the seal placed upon you all these years?"

"Poof!" Once the smoke cleared, the girl before her was nothing like Naruto's Sexy no Jutsu. The moment Naruto released the jutsu, it was as if the impulsive loudmouth brat she once knew, the person who thrived on people's attention any means possible cease to exist. The girl before her was the very definition of grace and beauty. She had the most exquisite set of cerulean blue eyes that were lined with long feminine lashes. Her expression may have been relaxed however her posture portrayed a confidence that was usually found in a Hyuuga. There was an air of elegance that seemed to surround her entire being.

"Now that you're a girl again, what name do you go by?"

Tsunade blinked at the soft tone of Naruto's voice, it would take some time getting used to the melodious voice belonging to a former loudmouth. "I go by the name of Natsuko. Enough of this though, I'm more interested in how Konoha had dealt with Sasuke after his abandonment?"

"I would say that he got off relatively easy, he had been under house-arrest for two years ever since he woke up at the hospital. Given his abandonment, the villagers have spilt into two fractions. One fraction is now wary of the last Uchiha, they're afraid that he would end up like his brother while the other fraction still treat him as the pride and joy of the Uchiha clan. He may be a chuunin in rank but his skills are more of a borderline jounin. But with his attitude, it's unlikely he'll be promoted to jounin anytime soon. "

"I see. I'm guessing that his personal vendetta with his brother is still more important than the resurrection of the Uchiha clan. It seems to me, he is in serious need of a wake-up call. His bitterness towards his brother is clouding his judgements in life."

Tsunade stared at Natsuko in disbelief. '_It's like a different person sitting in front of me. She would never show such seriousness pertaining to any topic that wasn't ramen or about the position of the Kage in the past. These five years has really matured the kid far more than I expected.'_

0.0


	2. Chapter two

Title: The Transformation

Pairing: Not confirmed yet, open for suggestions

Rating: PG-13 - R

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto this is merely for entertainment purposes.

'_Italic' _Thoughts

"…." Speech

0.0

CHAPTER TWO

0.0

"Baa..chan" she whined. "Are you even listening?" Tsunade gave a low chuckle.

"Yeah, I was thinking how much you have changed when actually you are still the same old brat five years ago." she replied. "We'll talk about what had happened these past few years tomorrow okay?" Natsuko pouted, she had put aside her beloved ramen for nothing! She should have just reported to the old hag tomorrow instead.

'_Well I'm glad that some things just never change. It just seemed uncanny to see such a composed expression on that face. It seems like no matter how much she change there's still that bit of Naruto's mischievous streak deep down in her.' _Tsunade smiled inwardly.

"I thought I told you not to call me a baba! It's not like I'm that old either." She huffed indignantly, though one could see the corners of her lips twitching upwards.

"Okay, why don't you ask Ero-sennin and Iruka-sensei to be there too? I would like to meet them first before I see the others." she agreed.

"Anyway…about your apartment there's a slight adjustment to it though….as you can know, Sand and Leaf have signed an alliance and to seal off the treaty we had exchanged a trustworthy shinobi between the two villages…"

"Baa-chan I know the details about the alliance so why don't you just go straight to the main point about what's wrong with my apartment."

"Okay. In short, Gaara of the Sand was the shinobi being exchanged and is now staying at your apartment."

"That's it?? Its okay, Gaara knows that I'm a girl. If that's all you wanted to say then I'll take my leave now. I want to eat some ramen before the shop closes, I'll come by again tomorrow." And with a blink of an eye, Natsuko was gone.

'_That went well, I thought for sure she will go berserk, once she heard that Gaara was staying at her apartment. Maybe she hasn't registered what I had just said… Anyway I better get some sleep while I can, the paper work can wait.' _Tsunade silently thought.

0.0

'_Kyuu how do you think the others will react after knowing the truth?'_

'_**Like I said before kit, if they're your true friends they will stand by you no matter what happens. If push comes to shove remember that you still have many others that still cares about you like the frog pervert, the old hag, the sensei that always treat you to ramen, the other demon vessel and your family back in Junkei.'**_

Natsuko was ambling around the streets of Konoha when she realised that she had arrived at the bridge where Team 7 used to meet. She was reminiscing about the time when everything seemed so much simpler. She was walking toward the training ground where their team used to train when she saw him, Uchiha Sasuke.

He was walking in silence paying no attention to anyone who was on the streets of Konoha. Why would he even bother about these weaklings that were holding him back? His contempt for the village had never waned within these five years. The village was still in his way of getting his revenge on his brother.

He would never forget the moment when he woke up in the hospital after the fight with Naruto. A team comprised of a chuunin and four gennin with some help from the Sand siblings and a shinobi that couldn't use chakra had managed to defeat the Sound team that had Oorochimaru's curse seal. This was why he had hated Shikamaru, for every time he saw the chuunin he would be reminded of his failure.

He had wanted out of the village the moment he woke up, only to be under house-arrest for two fucking years! Within these two years not only was he not allowed to train, he was supposed to 'help' out around the village. To put it nicely it was 'helping' when in actual fact, he was doing D missions like clearing the river or cleaning up the streets of Konoha. Not only that, he had guards following him everywhere for the last five years reporting his every action to that _old hag_. It seems Naruto had finally to have gotten something right for once.

He was musing over the past when he saw the girl in front of him, she had some resemblance towards a certain dope but he was certain that Naruto did not have any living family so who was this girl in front of him? It seemed like she was a Konoha kunoichi based on her headband but he had never seen her before.

"Who are you?" He asked before he could stop himself. Never in his life had he been attracted to the opposite sex but somehow this girl in front of him just seemed to spark something deep within him that makes him want to know everything about her.

Natsuko was staring at the person in front of her, the person who had been constantly haunting her in her nightmares. Their last fight in the valleys replayed in her mind especially the scene where he would jam a Chidori into her. She thought she had finally gotten rid of her silly fear but it seems that just the presence of Sasuke alone in front of her had triggered those unwanted thoughts again. She had just managed to push those memories back when she heard him asked the question.

"I'm a kunoichi that had just finished my long-term mission but I don't see that it's any of your business as to who I am Uchiha-san."

"Hn."

"I'm sure you would be seeing me more often, I was just heading to the training ground. Do you have time? Perhaps we could have a spar?"

"Sure."

0.0

Natsuko had made her move before Sasuke could even settle into his usual stance. She had disappeared from his view. _'She's fast, now, where'd she go?'_ Sasuke wondered. He immediately activated his Sharingan and looked around trying to sense her chakra. He jumped to his right when he finally pin-pointed her coming towards him from his left, narrowing missing her leg by half an inch.

Sasuke stared at the girl before him, excitement dancing in his eyes. It's not everyday that one would come across such a talented kunoichi, especially one as stunning as this. Natsuko was really fast that he had a slight problem keeping up with her attacks but of course he would never admit it.

It was now Sasuke's turn to attack he was done playing cat and mouse. He wanted to see just how good she claimed she was to be. He leaped towards her, one arm and leg stretched out. Natsuko leaped backward, somersaulting in mid air before she landed feeling a slight pain in her shoulder from the impact of his kick.

Sasuke was one step in front of her as he saw through his Sharingan that the girl was going to jump backwards. He swung his leg at her swiping her off balance when she landed. Natsuko fell hard on the ground, however using the momentum to back-flip she managed to fall into her stance readying her for another attack.

He took this chance to launch himself at her, aiming to strike her blind-spot. But she had managed to twist her body in such a way that she was able to block his kick with one arm and punched his stomach with the other. Natsuko intending to collect another hit, jumped and kicked in mid-air. However, this was seen by Sasuke as he raised his hands ready himself to absorb the kick.

Sasuke was impressed by his opponent, she was swift, agile and powerful, a formidable ally if they were ever in a battle but a deadly foe if anyone were to cross her line. But this spar was far from over. Both of them knew that up till now they have only been using Taijutsu and that they were equally match. In order to end this fight, they would have to use Ninjutsu.

Just then he felt cold metal swipe past his cheeks drawing a thin line as blood dripped down. _'A kunai, but where does she keep it? If I remembered clearly that she didn't have a holster attached to her legs'_ Sasuke was distracted by his thoughts when another kunai flew at him. His reflexes allowed him to dodge it slightly as he leaned back, allowing the kunai to scrape his arm. Only to see the kunai disappeared after it obtained its objective.

'_What the heck was that, the kunai just disappeared? This can't be an illusion since it was able to inflict the injury on my body!'_ Sasuke thought.

It had seemed like Natsuko had read his thoughts as she replied, "The kunai are made up of chakra. They are almost similar to a normal kunai in appearance but they will only disappear once it obtained its objective which is to draw blood. Count yourself lucky that you managed to get away with just a few scratches. These kunai will keep moving towards the target once it home in on your chakra no matter what it encounters."

Sasuke knew that this wasn't the time to get distracted by his thoughts, he performed his seal quickly. "Gokakyuu no jutsu", releasing a powerful fireball towards Natsuko. His opponent however had no desire to dodge the attack. Instead she seemed to have braced herself for the hit.

Sasuke panicked slightly when he realised Natsuko had not dodged his attack but rather stood at the exact same spot awaiting the impact. He hadn't intended to hurt her in any way possible. The only reason he agreed to this fight was so that he could assess her skills. His heart skipped a beat as he waited for the smoke to clear. He was shocked that instead of hitting her, the fireball was now being deflected towards him. It was as if the fireball had bounced off her and was now coming back towards him.

Sasuke threw several kunai which he had enhanced chakra in them, ensured to hit its opponent before dodging the fireball which ended up blasting the tree behind him. Unlike the fireball, the kunai just bounced off her but landed on the grass instead of deflecting towards him. By now one would certainly associate her shield to that of Gaara and his ultimate shield or the Hyuuga's Kaiten.

"Just to give you a little heads up, your fire jutsu are useless on me." Natsuko smirked knowing fully that this would pissed Sasuke into proving her wrong.

She was right when Sasuke took the bite at the taunt and started performing a few hand seals. Natsuko too moved her hands to perform a seal that was not recognisable even through Sasuke's Sharingan.

"Katon Karyuu Endan", releasing a fire dragon. However, the fire dragon that had just been summoned was quickly absorbed into an invisible wall in front of him. To say he was shocked was hardly the case. Sasuke opened his mouth to speak but nothing seemed to come out before closing it on his own accord. He tried his jutsu again to no valid, each time his fire dragon seemed to be absorbed away by an invisible barrier.

"As I was saying before you performed that seal, the barrier dome you're standing in would rendered any jutsu useless." Seeing the puzzled look on his face she continued.

"The dome as you experienced first hand is able to absorb whatever attacks in addition trapping the adversary in it too. Moreover, it is easy to maintain as it absorb your chakra to support the dome. I could also manipulate the dome in whatever way I like. An example would be your kunai, normal weapon attacks would bounce off while chakra attacks would be deflected towards the opponent instead." Natsuko explained.

"Who _are_ you? And why are you telling me what your abilities are?" Sasuke questioned with a tone of frustration in his voice.

"Who I am is not important for you'll find out sooner than you think. As to why I'm telling you what my abilities are, is because I considered you as an ally I might be able to help you. You'll understand better what I mean when you know _who_ I am, until then." With that Natsuko released the jutsu. Sasuke now was on his knees with the minimal amount of chakra left in him.

0.0

Natsuko teleported to her apartment after allowing her vision to adjust to the darkness she started to make her way toward the bedroom. She opened the door quietly, knowing exactly who to expect inside the room. The first thing she noticed was the big gourd leaning against the wall near the door and a crimson-haired guy lying on the bed reading a scroll.

Natsuko quietly creped up to the bed until she was close enough before jumping on him and pulling him into a warm hug.

"Natsuko?? I wasn't expecting you for another month, what happened?"

"Yeah, I wasn't supposed to arrive until another month but I manage to finish up my last assignment early. I was thinking why not just head over here earlier! Aren't you glad? You'll be able to sleep now that I'm here, wait here while I go wash up." Natsuko said pulling away from the hug and bouncing to the bathroom with her pyjamas and fox-head night cap in her hands.

0.0

The morning sun filtered through the windows. Natsuko frowned and twitched as a ray of sunlight shone on her face. She yawned before pulling the blanket over her head and snuggled closer to the warmth beside her.

The door of Natsuko's apartment creaked open, as a brown-haired man made his way to the bed screaming at the top of his voice, "NARUTO!!! Wake up! I know you came home last night Tsunade-sama told me this morning, she wants to see you after you clean up." This was followed by the blanket being yanked away from the bed revealing two bodies snuggling up to each other.

"NARUTO!!! You better wake up this moment NOW!!! And why are you in your Sexy no jutsu?" The brown-haired man bellowed.

Natsuko sat up sluggishly and scowled at the person that had disturbed her wonderful dream of all the ramen she could eat in the world. Suddenly, all sleep was chased away as she bolted up from her bed to hug the man, "Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka smiled fondly at the mass of blond, "Naruto why in the world are you sleeping in your Sexy no jutsu form? And _why_ are you sleeping with Gaara? Wait Gaara sleeping?? I thought Shukaku would arise in him and wreak havoc if he was sleeping??" He questioned.

"Err… Take a seat, this may take some time." Natsuko gestured him to sit on the bed while Gaara sat up on the bed annoyed that his rare sleep has been cut short.

"Okay. First question, I'm not in my Sexy no jutsu form, _this_ is how I looked. I'm sure the old hag has already mentioned this to you already right?" Natsuko sighed, seeing Iruka shake his head.

'_That old hag, she must have forgotten about it.'_ Natsuko thought.

'_This is really going take a long time.'_ Gaara was thinking.

So Natsuko explained what she had told Tsunade the night before about the seal that had been placed upon her when she was a babe.

"Wait, if that's the case then why isn't Gaara a girl too since his demon is a male like yours?"

"Why don't I explain, since it _is_ about me? The spirit of the demonic sand priest that was sealed in me by my father is known as Shukaku as you already have known. It is also known that without _the blood_ it is impossible to survive the sealing.

Because of this, my mother was used as a sacrifice to balance out the Yin and Yang. Therefore, my mother's Yin would be able to neutralise the priest's Yang allowing me to survive. This information was not revealed to the rest of the world as my father did not want other villages to be able to create another omnipotent weapon."

"I see but that still does not explain why you're sleeping with Gaara on the same bed." Iruka said, trying to control his anger.

"As to why Gaara is able to sleep is due to my bloodline I think. You see when I had my seal being strengthened. It sort of triggered my dormant abilities to its full majority. One of them, I realised after meeting up with Gaara a year ago was that I'm able to pacify the Shukaku within Gaara.

For some reason, every time I'm near Gaara, Shukaku's urge to kill diminishes. We had experimented to see how far away I could be and still able to suppress Shukaku's killing urge. And we realised that the effect was only able to last for a three meter radius around me. But the further Gaara gets from me within the three meter radius the stronger that killing urge gets.

And well, I was happy to be able to help a friend with his sleeping problem so for the past year we would meet up so that Gaara was finally able to sleep. So as you can see there is nothing wrong with Gaara sleeping as long as I'm around him." Naruto said beaming with pride.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NOTHING WRONG? Now that you're a girl how could you go around sleeping with _him_ on the same bed? I thought I taught you better than this." He sighed. "How could you be so laid back about this? What will the others think about it?" Iruka roared before turning and glared at Gaara.

"B-but _nothing_ and I repeat _nothing_ happened while we're asleep. It's just sleeping you know. Besides you _were_ the one who taught me to help out a friend in need and that's exactly what I'm doing." Natsuko protested, oblivious to why Iruka was fuming about.

"Both of you go wash up now. The Hokage wants to see you two now!" Iruka said obviously still fuming.

0.0

Over at the Hokage's office, Tsunade was just telling Jiraiya about Natsuko being back and that she had already unlocked the seal when a fuming Iruka dragged Natsuko into her office with Gaara following behind.

Natsuko was wearing a black coloured kimono with elegant lilies embroidered around the hem of the kimono and a white obi securing her waist which contrasted the kimono perfectly. The bottom of the kimono ended at her thighs revealing her slender legs.

"Looking good there kiddo. Hey, think you can help me with my research, I'm having some writer's block but with your _inspiration_ I think…." Jiraiya didn't get to finish what he wanted to say since the moment he had mentioned the words research and inspiration… He had unknowingly incurred the wrath of both Natsuko and Tsunade and was now facing his punishment.

Iruka then proceeded to inform the Tsunade and Jiraiya what he had found out in the morning. After hearing that, Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at each other knowingly, they knew that the time has come to tell Natsuko about her father.

"Natsuko do you have any idea of who was your father?" Tsunade asked.

"Err… Nope but what does these got to do with Gaara's sleeping problem?" Natsuko questioned.

"They are both related to each other. Now you must understand that your father was a very impartial person, even when it went against all his beliefs and principals. He was able to sacrifice himself selflessly in exchange for the safety of the village the day Kyuubi attacked the village."

"Y-you mean that my f-father was the F-fourth?" Natsuko stammered.

"Yes, there's a letter meant for you when you were sixteen. The letter should explain the some things better." Jiraiya handed her a slightly yellow letter.

0.0


	3. Chapter three

Title: The Transformation

Pairing: Not confirmed yet, open for suggestions

Rating: PG-13 - R

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto this is merely for entertainment purposes.

'_Italic' _Thoughts

"…." Speech

'**Bold'** Kyuubi talking

0.0

CHAPTER THREE

0.0

_To our beautiful and beloved child,_

_Hey kiddo! Your mum suggested we write this letter when we found out that she was pregnant with you incase anything were to befall on us you would still have this letter to explain to you about our families. As a shinobi, both our families made numerous of enemies over the years. If you are indeed reading this then our worst fears has come to pass which is that we have died before your sixteen birthday. Despite of the circumstances of how our deaths came to pass, there are several things that you will need to know. We've written two copies of this letter. One we gave to my sensei, Jiraiya to give to you when you turned sixteen, the other your mum suggested that we gave the Third just incase Jiraiya forgets or is unable to give the first copy to you. _

_**Hey babe, it's mum here. Before we say what needs to be said, you need to know that we are proud of you no matter what you decided to do with your life as long as it makes you happy and that we love you eternally, and irrevocably. Our only wish for you is to be safe and happy. **_

_I second that mushy sentiment! But back to business, the reason why we are writing this letter is to let you know what you need to know about our families. They were rather secretive about their bloodlines. Therefore I doubt you would be able to find anyone to answer questions about your heritage or help you train your bloodline. _

_I'll be talking about my family first, but before that make sure that you are not reading this letter anywhere where people could see the letter. You may allow other people to read this letter ONLY after you have read it through once. After that it is up to you to decide whether you want anyone else to read it. _

_If you haven't been told yet, you are from the Kazama clan, they are usually known for their segregation from the people. This would be due to our bloodline, as guardian of the spirits, we are able to utilize their skills and chakra. Hence our clan is usually called upon during war or missions that have lesser chance of completing. Because of that our clan had made numerous of enemies over the years in the battlefield hence we had decided to live away from the village so even if our enemies were to seek revenge it would not affect the village. _

_To utilize the spirits abilities however, one must undergo training in __Shizenkai, the realm of nature, first. At Shizenkai, the spirit with the element best suited for the person would bond with them allowing one to utilize its element as well as its chakra. This was told to every child in the Kazama clan since young, allowing them to prepare themselves for the ritual and training they would received on their eighteen's birthday. However, I'm not able to tell you much about the ritual as I did not perform the ritual due to the plaque that struck the clan when I was twelve. I had no idea how to perform the ritual required. __Therefore I was never able to tap into the power of the spirits. _

_Now the next issue I need to tell you would be about the Kazama mansion. As I mention before the clan were rather isolated from the village but there is a secret shortcut that our clan would use when they would travel to the village. You would be able to find the entrance of the passageway which would lead you directly into the mansion using the map drawn on the other side of this letter. You should also know that the mansion has several Genjutsu placed upon it to only allow those of Kazama blood or anyone that the current head allows to see through them. You are the current head of the Kazama clan now since the only way you would read this letter would be if your mother and I die. As the current head, you would need to fuse some of your chakra with the house to maintain the Genjutsu around the mansion. Once you located the mansion look for the library, in there you would be able to find all the information about the Kazama clan and their abilities. Up to today I have already search through half of the library for any information about the ritual but I have yet to find anything about it. With any luck I would have already found the information before you would be born…_

_**Hey baby, its mom again, its now my turn to tell you about my bloodline. My family the Uzumaki clan has been known to be able to solidify chakra. Hence we were able to mould chakra in to weapons or shields. You would be able to find all my jutsu as well as your dad's in a box in the library. This is so that you would be able to train in your family jutsu. We wrote every jutsu that we could ever remember since there isn't anyone left on your dad side to teach you while the location of my family is still unknown. **_

_**My clan was originally from the **__**Hidden Village of Grass. It was during the time when I was sent to sign an alliance with the Hidden Village of Leaf that I met your dad. Actually my dad, your grandfather was supposed to go instead but just before the journey he and more than half of the clan were poisoned through our water supply. As I had just returned from a mission, I was not affected hence, I was sent instead.**_

_**Two days after my team had arrived at Konoha, we received news that the rest of the clan members were attacked in their weakened state and we were asked to lay low in Konoha. Our clan had been targeted because the Kage of the village ever since its establishment had always been from our clan. This had naturally caused some resentment among the other stronger clans. They had came together to bring down our clan so that they could claimed the position of the Kage for themselves. Up until now as I write this letter I have yet to hear from either my father or any of the clam members, I could only hope that some of them had survived. **_

_Well kid, I guess that's all we have to say about our families, your mom and I hoped that this letter would be sufficient to answer any questions you might have about your heritage. The only regret that your mom and I would have would be that we missed you growing up over the years. _

_**Good luck my beautiful daughter or handsome son as it may be. We wish you all the happiness in the world and love you dearly, but we hope you don't see us for a very long time.**_

_**Mum **__& Dad_

_PS: The scrolls of jutsu in the box are either pass down from our families or create by ourselves, be sure to look through them to see if they could help you. As a shinobi, it is important to have a vast array of skills to fall back on during a battle. _

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Jiraiya, Tsunade, Iruka and Gaara were waiting patiently for Natsuko to gather her thoughts about the Fourth being her dad. They watched different expressions on her face filtered pass her face as she read through the letter written by her parents. When she finally finished reading the letter, she looked up at the concerned faces gathered around her and asked the question that she wanted to ask ever since she started reading the letter.

"What happened to my mom?"

Tsunade took a breath and started to explain. "Natsuko…during the Kyubbi's attack on the village all active shinobi were on call, no one would have predicted that your mom would choose that moment to be in labour. By the time I arrived at the hospital, both you and your mom were in dire condition, it seemed that the umbilical cord had twined around your neck and we needed an operation to get you out before you suffocated to death. Your mom on the other hand was injured along the way to the hospital, it seemed that some missing-nins nearby decided to take advantage of the situation and kidnapped the Uchiha children, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke. It seemed that Oorochimaru had announced to the missing-nins that whoever could bring him either of the two Uchiha children would be awarded heavily.

Those missing-nins almost got away when they met your mom, although she knew she was in labour she fought with them. Luckily the commotion had alerted some of the shinobi on their way to fight Kyuubi. They managed to subdue those missing-nins and sent your mom to the hospital. However, your mom had a lethal wound in her chest which was bleeding profusely. You must understand Natsuko, your mom was already on the verge on death when she arrived at the hospital. By the time we got the wound to close and you out of the womb, she had died seeing as she was unable to take the stress of the wound because it was very near the heart."

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Natsuko had decided to take a break from everything she had learned about her family so far and to organise her thoughts. She had decided to check out the Kazama mansion that was mention in the letter. Gaara had accompanied her along seeing as he wasn't sure how Natusko was taking all that information in one seating.

"**Hey kit, you know about the ritual that your dad mentioned in his letter..."**

"_Yeah, I guess I'll have to search the library on it as soon as we get there, I wonder when this passageway is going to end. We have been walking in it for sooo long…"_

"**Quit complaining kit, you've been walking in it for only fifteen minutes-"**

"_Yeah but it took us damm long to find it even with the instructions in the letter-"_

"**Quit interrupting me, you know how much I hate it. Anyway as I was **_**saying**_** before I was **_**interrupted**_** was that I know how to get into Shizenkai. You see in Shizenkai, there are the spirits, the demons and the summons. There is a council that preside over the spirits, demons and summons. An individual that has the most respect over their species is chosen to be on the council. I along with two others are on the council which is why I know how to go to Shizenkai and back from there and since I'm in your body we could travel without the ritual your dad mentioned but we would certainly need some help on that matter though. You would need the chakra of at least both Gaara and the pervert or the old hag.**

**Another thing about it is that your dad was right about the need to do it on your eighteen's birthday. After that, if one was to enter Shizenkai, they would have lesser chance of learning the full potential of the skills of the spirit that they would be bonded with you as they have already stopped growing physically resulting in the inflexibility to wield the chakra needed for most skills. However, if one were to bond with a spirit before eighteen, the training they underwent in Shizenkai would stun their physical growth instead. So we need to do this exactly on your eighteenth birthday. You would need to ask them as soon as you can, understand?"**

"_Okay, I'll start by asking Gaara first. By the way since we are talking about Gaara, any idea about why I could pacify his demon?"_

"**The reason is because of your Kazama bloodline, they are the guardians of the Shizenkai not just the spirits. They have the ability to placate the spirits to bond with them. There are also some rare few that have the ability to soothe the demons your dad however wasn't one of those. Usually when one that has that ability is born, one of the council members would be sent to bless the child with some of their abilities. However those idiotic Konoha shinobi mistook it for an attack while I was making my way to this village and well…you know how it ended. Luckily I was sealed in the right babe or it would have been embarrassing when those back home found out about it. I did have my suspicions whether you were the one but I could never be sure since that old man sealed all your bloodlines along the Henge and you were named after your mom's family name. This was why I was always trying to take over you so I could find the child I was supposed to bless. And well you know what happened after the fight in the valley when it screwed up my seal so much that I went berserk until the seal got altered."**

"_Well, that certainly explains the changed in your behaviour after the seal was altered. I think we better postponed our talk for the next time it seems like we've reached the end of the tunnel."_

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While Natsuko and Gaara went to find the secret passageway to check whether the mansion was habitable and how soon it was possible to move in, Kakashi could be seen making his way toward the Hokage tower to submit his report about Sasuke's state of mind. However he had some questions of his own that he needed to ask the Hokage about, especially about that girl who greatly resembled a certain blond he know of. _'Could it be…That Naruto has finally returned home but why didn't the Hokage mention about it…'_ Thoughts along this line were running through Kakashi's mind.

Upon seeing Jiraiya in deep discussion with the Hokage, Kakashi was now certain that the blond girl sparring with Sasuke the day before was Naruto in his Sexy no jutsu form. The only reasoning for the Sennin to be in Konoha was that Naruto had finally returned home. _'But why would he walk around in a Henge, although it seems like he seemed to tone down on the curves a lot, it didn't really seemed like the Naruto that he knew either with the way he dealt with Sasuke. I guess I could only get my answers from them'_

"Hokage-sama, this is the report on Uchiha Sasuke's state of mind this month."

"Will that be all Kakashi?" Tsunade looked at him questioning.

"Err… There is just this thing that happened yesterday on my shift. It would seem that he had taken an interest in a blond-haired girl in her late teens after their spar yesterday. The blond-haired girl resembles a lot like Naruto yet some how it doesn't seem to be him either." Kakashi continued to speak, missing the look the two Sennins were giving each other.

"I had my suspicion about whether it was really Naruto but seeing as Jiraiya-sama is here I would assume that the girl yesterday is indeed Naruto. But why was he in a Henge?"

AN: Kakashi still does not know that Naruto is now a girl yet so I'll be referring to Naruto as a boy… Sorry if Jiraiya seems OC here…

"I don't think that Kakashi has the right to those answers at all. The kid is no longer your student, he was off your hands the moment you passed him off to Ebisu and ran off to train Sasuke before the chuunin finals five years ago!" Jiraiya responded his tone was clear that he would accept no arguments on the matter.

"What do you mean by that Jiraiya?" confusion written all over Tsunade face. She had only come back to Konoha after the chuunin finals after all.

"Tsunade this had happened before the kid and I went to find you. Kakashi here had blatantly favour the Uchiha brat over the other two members in the team just before the chuunin final exam-"

"That was because Sasuke had the curse seal from Oorochimaru during the second part of the chuunin exam in the forest of death. He was in danger if ever the curse seal were to be activated. I had to be there to teach him how to control it. Moreover, his opponent in the chuunin finals was Gaara, that-"

"_That_ is not an excuse Kakashi. True the Uchiha brat may not be able to control the curse seal but by no means was he in any danger that _he _didn't put himself in! If my memory serves me right I would recalled that you had already placed a seal on the curse seal. Hence the curse seal would not activate unless he himself will it to.

On the other hand, Naruto _was_ in danger because of the seal that snake bastard placed on the Kyuubi's seal. The seal had result in Chakra Chaos a condition where Naruto had absolutely _no_ control over his chakra. This allowed him to be open to _any_ attacks, if the villagers were to ever know that he was as vulnerable as a 3 year old kid what do _you_ think would happened!"

'_I didn't know about the seal, heck I didn't even bother to ask Naruto if Oorochimaru did anything to the others in the forest of death, all I had in mind was how can I help Sasuke win his match against Gaara. Jiraiya is right. If the villagers had known that Naruto was vulnerable they might take this opportunity to attack him which could be fatal.' _Kakashi thought as Jiraiya continued

"Moreover you forfeited the right to have any opinion concerning Naruto when you decided to abandon him to Ebisu who was not able to recognise the seal and even if he did recognise it he was not capable to remove the seal. On top of that, of all people you had to choose to train Naruto you had to choose someone who was biased toward him because of the Kyuubi. Did you even make an effort to find an instructor for Naruto?

_Now_ you're speechless huh? Of all people I would have expect more from you. What would your sensei say if he was still alive? To look underneath the underneath that's what he would say. You thought that the other 2 members of Team 7 were worthless as compared to the Uchiha brat. Just because _he_ had the Sharingan does not mean that _you_ can favour him over the others.

You only saw that the girl had a low chakra capacity and is weak in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. But if you had taken the time to train her you'll find that her exceptional chakra control makes her excellent for learning Genjutsu or even to become a medic-nin. Yet you did nothing for either her strengths or her weakness.

Your biggest miscalculation however was Naruto. You thought that he was a loud obnoxious idiot who was too flashy for his own good. You assumed that he was obviously not suited to be a shinobi and that perhaps the most redeeming fact about him was his stamina but that's where you're wrong. Naruto's potential had exceeded far more compared with the Uchiha brat. When kids his age was happily playing in the playground without a care in the world, _he_ was thinking of ways to let people notice him. When he failed to gained the attention he wanted by being a good little boy, he started to play pranks on people just so that people would acknowledge his existence even if the attention was not the type he wanted but beggars can't be choosey can they?

You did not think that he would be able to defeat the Hyuuga kid nor Gaara, heck you were even surprised that he was able to fight evenly with the Uchiha brat when he activated the second level of the curse seal. Your faith in him was so little whereas your faith in the Uchiha brat was so huge that you even taught him the Chidori but-"

"And _you_ taught Naruto the Rasengan, a move that I do not think that he should learn at that time! What the hell were you even _thinking_ to teach Naruto such a move? Do you _know_ the consequences that could happen if he were to misuse it?" Kakashi retorted back.

"It's funny that you should talk about the consequences that could happen if he were ever to misuse such a move. Do you even know what _happened_ during their fight in the retrieval mission? I take it that you didn't even bother to ask Naruto what had happened before he left then. _Your _prized student had used a Chidori on Naruto not once but twice. One right into his stomach the other into his chest just so that he could obtain the ultimate Sharingan, the Mangekyou Sharingan. You had so much faith in him that you failed to see that he was at that time a power obsessed manic who will do anything to obtained power even if it was to kill his only friend!"

'_What have I done? I messed up badly on Team 7. To look underneath the underneath THAT was my first lesson to them but I myself failed to practice it. What kind of teacher am I if I were to condemn my students just because I failed to recognise their strength and potential? All I saw was the need to strengthen Sasuke so that he would not run off to Oorochimaru but instead after he had learned finished what I had to offer he had immediately went on to the next source available. I never ever thought in my whole life that he would use the Chidori on a comrade especially a friend at that!' _

"WHAT! YOU taught the Uchiha the Chidori but you didn't _teach_ him about using it on his _comrades_! Naruto could have died if he didn't have Kyuubi's healing powers! Jiraiya _why_ didn't you informed me about it? I had tried to get him to tell me about what happened between the two of them during the fight but no matter what I said he wouldn't tell me. When the Uchiha kid recovered, I tried once more to force it out of him but he too won't tell me what had happened!" Tsunade hollered and glared at both Kakashi and Jiraiya.

"I didn't ask him about it until I realised the first few night that we started travelling he kept having nightmares about the fight especially the part where the Uchiha brat blasted the Chidori into him. I had to force him to tell me what had happened and he only agreed after he made me promised not to say it to anyone for the sake of the Uchiha brat's future. Even then he did not blame the Uchiha for what he had done.

But _you_ not once did you ever congratulate him when he defeated his opponents in the chuunin exam or when he recovered from the retrieval mission. He may not have defeated the Uchiha brat but at least he was able to hold him off until you arrived. Both of them were unconscious when you arrived allowing you to bring them back. Did you know that almost everyone in rookie nine that were not injured, Iruka and those three brats always hanging around the kid were there to send him off! He had purposely waited hoping that you and that pink-haired girl would come but neither _you_ nor that girl was around to send him off, both of you were so busy with how the Uchiha brat was recuperating to even bother about Naruto's wellbeing.

Even with the way you treat him, not once did he regret the time he spent with Team 7. He was even looking forward to work with the rest of Team 7 again. Did you know that during our trip, whenever he had seen a scroll that could help the Uchiha brat or the pink-haired girl, he would buy them just so he could give it to them when he returned. I personally don't think that you deserved such a student. _Now_ do you see why you shouldn't be in the meeting? You have no need to worry yourself about Naruto's wellbeing anymore it's all being settled as you can see." Jiraiya explained in annoyance.

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	4. Chapter four

Title: The Transformation

Pairing: Not confirmed yet, open for suggestions

Rating: PG-13 - R

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto this is merely for entertainment purposes.

'_Italic' _Thoughts

"…." Speech

'**Bold'** Kyuubi talking

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CHAPTER FOUR

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Tsunade yawned and rubbed at her sore eyes. She was up early in the morning to discuss about Natsuko's future plans here onwards and to find out about what had happened three years ago when Natsuko mysteriously disappeared from Jiraiya's care. But before anything could be discussed, she had gone to check out the condition of the Kazama manor. Then there was the incident with Kakashi. And now they were back to where they started out in the morning, to discuss about Natsuko's plans from here onwards. But first she and Jiraiya needed to know what happened over the past 3 years.

"Before we start, Jiraiya and I have a few questions for you, Natusko. One, what happened to you that night 3 years ago? Two who was the person whom altered the seal? Three why _didn't_ you contact us when you could? Did you know how worried _I_ was when that stupid pervert over there told me he lost you? I thought you were being captured by the Akatsuki or something. And four why are you so close with Gaara?" Tsunade and Jiraiya were now staring intently at Gaara.

"I'll answer the easy one first. Last year I was sent on a special mission by my granddad to prove that I was strong enough to take care of myself before he allowed me return to Konoha. It was on the mission when I met Gaara since then he has been with me for the past year because of his sleeping problems. When we heard that the Leaf and Sand had signed an alliance and was going to exchange a shinobi, Gaara decided that he would be the one to be exchanged so that he could catch some rest and keep his sanity in check with me close by.

As for the rest of the questions they are sort of linked together. You see that night before I went missing I was mediating to keep Kyuu's chakra in check which also prevents him from overtaking my mind. This was the only option I had at that time when the seal was weakening. Ero-sennin and I had gone to the Hidden Village of Sand since Gaara was the only one we knew who had another demon in him…."

…FLASHBACK…

AN: Before altering the seal Naruto is still a male hence I'll still be using the name Naruto until the seal that the Third put on him when he is still a babe is unlock…

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**Five years ago…**

"Oi, oi! Hurry up would you! Why are you so slow? Is finally old age catching up?" Naruto smirked knowing it never fails to get on the Ero-sennin's nerves.

"You fail to realize that keeping up with a person like you is quite wearisome. How could you still be full of energy after travelling for 2 days straight?" The older male retorted as he drew nearer to the energetic child.

The young boy pouted slowing down to allow the white-haired man to catch up with him. "Why don't you just admit that you. are. getting. old. Ero-sennin. Soon you'll be asking for help with your pack!"

"Shut up brat! Even if I were to die of exhaustion, I won't ask you to carry my pack!!! You can slow down a little you know considering the speed we're going at we're likely to reach the Sand Village in an hour."

An hour later, one hyperactive blond boy and one exhausted white-haired man walked into the Sand village on the intent of meeting up with Gaara. Both of them had questions they needed answers from and Gaara was the one person who could provide them. Not a moment too soon before the two travellers spotted a head of red hair passed by before them.

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled causing the people to stop in their tracks to look at the one who had shouted

"What are you doing here?"

"I needed to ask you some things, can we go a more private place." Gaara nodded before telling them to follow him.

At Gaara's house…

"So why are you two doing here?"

"Err… You see I actually have a problem and I was thinking that you might be able to help me. You see the battle with Sasuke during the retrieval mission a month ago had caused my seal to be weakened. Ero-sennin and Tsunade-baba wasn't able to find out the reason. So I was wondering whether you would know how I could strengthen the seal."

"I see no wonder Shukaku and I had sensed a suppressed rage. Kyuubi must have known that the seal was weakening. He must have thought that this is the perfect time for him to overtake you but you seemed to have caught on pretty fast on what he was planning to do. Hence you were able to suppress his rage.

The only advice I can give you is to mediate so as to suppress Kyuubi's rage and that it would not be wise to sleep for it is your weakest moment in which Kyuubi might try to overtake your mind. The situation you are dealing with now is the same as what Shukaku and I have been dealing with since I could even remember."

"Thanks we appreciate your help, we'll be leaving now." Naruto replied disappointed, he was hoping that Gaara would be able to help him even more though.

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**TWO YEARS LATER…**

Ever since their visit to the Sand village, Naruto had taken Gaara's advice to heart and had not slept a wink, fearing that the Kyuubi would capitalised on the opportunity to overtake his mind when he does. Nowadays he could often be seen mediating late into the night entering a trance-like state. However, when he mediates his defence would be lowered due to the huge amounts of concentration needed to keep the Kyuubi's rage in check causing him to be unaware of his surrounding.

It was in the late afternoon, Jiraiya and Naruto had just arrived at a small village around the border of the wave country. They were there for the opening of a new hot spring because Jiraiya had been invited as the guest-of-honour for the ceremony by the owner who was a huge fan of his Icha Icha Paradise series.

It was the third day since the opening when Jiraiya had claimed that he was going to do some research and collect data for his latest book. Naruto having nothing better to do started to mediate in the room. Little did Naruto know that a masked shinobi had been spying on him ever since he stepped into the village.

The masked shinobi was travelling past through the village headed for home when he had met the pair. He had heard the guards that were checking their passes called out his clan name, Uzumaki. At first he had been sceptical about that as there wasn't anyone named Naruto in the clan. However, he knew too well that he couldn't take any chances that the teen may actually be a member of their clan that had survive the massacre. Hence with that thought in mind, he had sent a message back to the clan to consult the elders on what he should do. After a day of waiting, he finally receive the reply saying that he should knock him out before bringing him back to the village. This was to safeguard the village whereabouts if the medical tests came back and he wasn't a real Uzumaki.

After observing him for the past few days, he knew that the best time to take the teen was when he was mediating as that was when his defence was the weakest. He had been waiting to strike ever since he received the orders from the elders but the white-haired companion was always with him when the blond mediates making it harder for him to do anything. However it seemed like today was his lucky day, the white-haired man was gone hence he had used this opportunity to take him away. The masked shinobi had cast a jutsu on him paralysing him which would last for at least a day or two allowing him enough time to get back to the village.

0.0

'_Ach… why is my whole body is aching? It feels as if I've been stepped on by Gamabunta several times. Where the hell am I? This room wasn't the same one I was in before I started to mediate. Wait, don't tell me I've been captured by the Akatsuki? But they would have tied me or at least restrained me right?'_ Questions racing through Naruto's mind.

"I see that you're awake, how do you feel?

"W-who are you a-and where am I?

"Don't be scared child we mean you no harm, you're now in our village, Junkei or better known as the Hidden Village of Bloodlines. I'm the current head of the Uzumaki clan and also your grandfather, Kimura. These are the elders of the clan. While you're the next head of the Uzumaki clan, we did some tests to verify it. What is your name child?"

"N-naruto, Uzumaki Naruto Y-you mean I have a family? But why didn't you come for me then why now?" Naruto was trying to cope with the turmoil of emotions that he felt, knowing that from now onwards he wasn't alone anymore.

"Yes. As for why I'll answer you later now the most important thing is to adjust your seals. It seems like you see you not only have one but two seals. The first seal is made to contain the Kyuubi while the second seal that was placed on top of the first seal seems to be some kind of Henge. It seems to draw chakra from the Kyuubi to enforce the henge so that in any case the caster were to die, the Henge would still be in place. It seemed to be design to break only when you are strong enough to protect yourself. But it looks like the person who did the seals did not take in account of the first seal which caused your bloodlines to be bind as well.

The problem now is the second seal. It must have been weakened sometime ago when you used a great deal of the Kyuubi's chakra. However the second seal did not break but only weaken under the false impression that the Kyuubi's power was yours. Now in its weakened state it seems to be slowly driving the Kyuubi insane which is the cause for it raging madness in there. If the seal is not removed immediately the sanity of the Kyuubi may never be recovered. While we're removing the second seal we'll also alter the first seal which traps the Kyuubi so that you would have better access to his power. But I must warn you that the process of doing so it very painful."

"I'm ready. The most I could do for the fur ball is to return its sanity." Naruto said with determination.

In an hour's time, the elders had prepared everything needed. Naruto was now lying in the middle of a pentagon on the floor with an elder on each end of the pentagon. The elders started to chant an incantation and allowing their chakra to flow to where the seal is on Naruto. When the chakra filled up the pentagon, Naruto started screaming out in pain as he felt tendrils of chakra burning into his skin as they wrapped around his body strangling him before they started moving toward the seal on his stomach. After half an hour of screaming, a loud shriek followed by a blinding flash of blue signalled the end. When the blue light faded, a blond-haired girl was lying in place where Naruto was supposed to be.

0.0

Naruto woke up to the dripping sound of water in the dark hallway. She knew subconsciously that she was in her mind, the part where the Kyuubi was being seal away. She slowly ventured through the dark hallways until she spotted an opening at the end. When she entered the opening, she saw the Kyuubi sitting behind the bars of its cage.

"**I see that you have found some people who are competent enough to remove the second seal that the Third had placed upon you. I thank you for returning my sanity but this does not mean that we are even brat."**

"Why am I here and why does my voice sounds so weird? It's like I'm a girl."

"**Brat did you even looked at yourself even once when you arrived?"** Kyuubi asked enjoying every moment of torturing his vessel.

"What? Aaahhhh!!!! What the hell happened? What did you do to my body fur ball? I a-am a g-girl!" Naruto scream as she looked down at her body.

"**I see that you've finally notice the obvious brat. I must say that compared with your previous body, I prefer this one more. But as it is, I had nothing to do with it, you were changed by nature to accommodate me when I was sealed in you. You see I was sealed in the male form of you 14 years ago but since that I too am a male, the balance was being disrupted. This was the reason why you were transformed into a girl in order for the balance to be restored. **

**However these past 14 years you have been living as a boy due to the seal placed upon you by the Third Hokage. I remembered hearing him said that it was to keep you safe from the villagers that if ever the villagers were to find out about you being a girl that who know what might happen."**

"So the old man had my best interest in mind when he placed that seal. But why didn't he even tell me about it. This whole thing is so screw up. Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!"

"**As much as I would like to carry on this conversation, it time for you to go back. Hahaha…"** With that Naruto was thrown out of his mind.

0.0

"She seems to be waking up, give her some space to breath."

"Argh…"

"How do you feel? Do you feel pain anywhere?" It was the same elder who asked everyone to give Naruto some breathing space.

"I'm fine. I had just spoken with the fur ball." Naruto then proceed to explain what the Kyuubi had said to her in her mindscape. After she finished explaining, her grandpa spoke. "Now that the second seal is removed I'm going to alter the seal that contains the Kyuubi to allow you to better access to him. I need you to slightly lift up your shirt and to also mould your chakra so I can see the seal. "

While Naruto lift up her shirt and mould her chakra her granddad started to form some seals and slam into her stomach gaining an ear-piercing scream from her yet again. Unlike the last time, the alteration of the seal needed only 10 minutes. But to Naruto, this 10 minutes was unbearable in addition to the fact that her body had not yet recovered fully since the breaking of the second seal, she fainted straight once the seal was altered.

When she woke up, she was lying on a bed with her clothes changed. Feeling her stomach growling rather loudly, she ventured out of her room making her way toward the sweet aroma of food. "Good morning, don't just stand there you must be starving come sit and eat something." Her grandpa spotted her the moment she stepped into the dinning room.

"Let me introduce myself again, I'm the current clan head of the Uzumaki clan and also your grandfather, Kimura. You see 16 years ago, we did not stay at Junkei but rather the Hidden Village of Grass.Our clan had been targeted because the Kage of the village ever since its establishment had always been from our clan. This had caused some resentment among the other stronger clans. And because of that, they had came together to bring down our clan so that they could claimed the position of the Kage for themselves. At that time we were about to sign an alliance with the Hidden Village of Leaf but a few days before I was supposed to leave for the Leaf my clan and I were being poison through the water supply. My daughter and her team were one of the few that weren't affected hence she was sent instead along with few others.

That was the last time I ever saw my daughter. The day that they arrived at the Leaf was the day that we were attacked due to our weakened state. More than half of our clan members were killed. During the attack I sent a message to my daughter to lay low and stay at the Hidden Village of Leaf until we found a place to settle down. I didn't want to endanger my only daughter's life nor risk our whereabouts location hence I decided not to contact her until our enemies had given up hope.

The rest of the clan and I escaped to this legendary village. We were lucky that we chanced upon a group of shinobis going back to their village, when they heard about situation they offered to bring us here where the rest of the clans openly accepted us. Like its name suggests Junkei is made up of only clans with pure bloodlines. Our clan's bloodline was the reason that they accepted us readily. We are able to manipulate chakra one of the most common method is the ability to solidify chakra. Our bloodline are the originator of this abilities although there are other bloodlines that have evolved from our bloodline like the Akadou clan which has the exceptional ability of absorbing chakra, allowing them to suck out the mind and body energy from an enemy's body by placing their palm onto the enemy's skin.

Anyway, by the time we have settled down in this village and ensured that we were not being hunted, I had sent my sons to the Leaf only to have them come back empty handed saying that my daughter and her team were killed during the Kyuubi's attack…

You should know that this village does not have any civilians, everyone here are shinobis hence the village does not have the need of a Kage but rather a council with all the clan heads. The council would decide all major decision such as the acceptance of a clan or in the case of war, whether to rent our assistance. Other than that, the clans are all self-sufficient, we provide our own food either by growing or trading. You could see that the shops opened in the village are all by shinobis that have either retired or have no missions at the moment. This system allows us to trade for stuff that we may not be able to grow. On top of that the clan also decides what kind missions to undertake.

But enough of that, you'll find out about the village more in depth once you get to know them when you stay here. So now Naruto seeing as you're now a girl I thought that it would be inappropriate to call you by this name therefore I've already thought of another name for you called Natsuko, Uzumaki Natsuko." Kimura explained.

"Thank you. But how do you know that I'm your granddaughter? Like you said you have not seen your daughter ever since the attack so how could you be sure that you're my grandfather?" Natsuko questioned, not willing to bring her hopes up.

"When you were brought here we ran a few tests in order to verify if you were indeed a Uzumaki. One of the tests that we ran was a DNA test, we wanted to see who you were related to and the result was an almost perfect match to my DNA. So I would say that there is no mistake in that..."

"R-really? I have a g-grandfather! Could I call you grandpa? Wait till Ero-sennin and the people back home hear about this!" Natsuko cheered happily while bouncing around the room. That action alone had livened up the atmosphere in the room as everyone grinned at the childish actions of their new-found member.

---END OF FLASHBACK---

"But that still doesn't explain why you didn't contact us these past 3 years after the initial letter?" Jiraiya said rather hurt that his student didn't bother to contact him.

"Actually the letter you received wasn't written by me but rather the very same person who had captured me that day who copied my style of writing. In addition, there was a matter of safeguarding the whereabouts of the village. You have no idea how many people out there are still looking for them and also what those people will do to the village when they found it. Moreover I wasn't allowed to leave the barrier that protects the village except during missions but even if I was allowed to send a letter I can't guarantee that the message wasn't intercepted by anyone. This could endanger both Konoha and Junkei. They could threaten to destroy Konoha forcing me to disclose the location of Junkei…"

"I see. I understand that you won't risk endangering both villages." Tsunade replied.

"So what are planning to now that you're back? Will you be going back to Junkei? You know I still want to pass the Hokage title to you right?"

"I'm not planning on going back to Junkei anytime soon, I mean they are family but my very first family I had is down here. Before that I'm going to be the Roukudaime first, I'm still waiting for that day to come so when that happens I'll just move my whole clan here. I don't really know what I'm planning to do now that I'm back."

"You _know_ technically you're actually a jounin. You see after Sasuke's retrieval mission, everyone involved in the mission were promoted to become a chuunin. On top of that, during the training you had with Jiraiya for two years, you have already fulfilled the minimum criteria for the promotion to be a jounin hence with his recommendation you were being promoted a few weeks after you disappeared. However we never let anyone knew that you were missing. So now you could either take a genin team if not I'll just attached you to a jounin team. The other option is that you could undergo the special training to become a hunter-nin or the Anbu."

"Actually old hag there's something I need to discuss with you all. You remember the letter I show you all this morning about needing some ritual to access Shizenkai. Apparently Kyuu found a way for me to enter it."

"What do you mean brat? Explain yourself."

"You see Shizenkai is actually a realm where spirits, demons and summons live in concert. There is a council that preside over the spirits, demons and summons. It seems from what Kyuu told me on the way to the manor is that the council is spilt up into two portions. The council which has the most authority in Shizenkai consists of only three members, they are known as the high council. An individual that has the most respect over each species is chosen to be on the high council. Kyuu is actually on this council along with two others.

The other part of the council consists of the all the boss summons, the spirit leaders of each element and last but not least all the nine tails saved for Kyuu for the demons. They are the members that would bring up any disputes or any news that would affect Shizenkai. Sometimes they would also bring up new regulations. These would then be presented to the high council to determine what actions would be taken.

Now the next part is that some people in the Kazama clan on rare occasion are born with the ability to placate the demons allowing them to bond with them. The ability allows the person to soothe the demons even when one is agitated. Due to its rarity, usually when one that has the ability is born, one of the council members would be sent to bless the child with some of their abilities. Kyuu was sent but due to his size, Konoha had mistaken it for an attack instead. During the attack, he had sensed that I was in danger which would match the time-frame when the umbilical cord had twined around my neck. He had tried to help me but unfortunately, at that time he had been restrained…

Anyway Kyuu had mentioned that since he was one of the high council members, he is able to travel to Shizenkai without the rituals but we need the help of Gaara and either Ero-sennin or Baa-chan to send us there. This is why the ritual exists as it minimise the amount of raw chakra needed to pass through the barriers that contains Shizenkai. It's the same principal when one summon a boss summon, the scroll minimise the amount of chakra being utilised. Therefore without the ritual, a massive amount of chakra is required. Although I could use Kyuu's chakra, I'm not able to fully utilise his chakra with backlash so I would need some help just in case."

"I see. In that case do you want to go on missions for the next two months or would you like to take a break?"

"I was thinking about taking some time off to look through the scrolls that my parents had left me plus clean up the manor as well as catch up with the rest of my friends because I'm not sure how long I would be staying at Shizenkai. It seems like the duration differs for individual, the stronger the spirit that bonds with the person the longer time is spent training. And since Kyuu _is_ a member of the high council I'm not sure how long my training would take."

"What about Gaara? Without you around, he wouldn't be able to get a night rest-"

"I think you misunderstand Tsunade-sama, even without Natsuko I'm still able to contain Shukaku's rage through mediation, besides I've been doing it all these years. It shouldn't be a problem." Gaara snarled.

Natsuko's expression fell when she heard him say it. "Gaaaarraa…you know you don't have to face this alone. There are always people who would support you even if there isn't. You could always rely on me to stay with you all the way!"

His expression softens as he expertly put his hand on top of Natsuko's head, softly patting her hair. To a stranger, it would seem that the gesture was endearing but since those that _are_ present know them only too well. The gesture only shows how much Gaara had changed since the chuunin exams. It seemed he had come a long way from a cold-bloodied killer to the person he is today. The three were brought out of their thoughts when Natsuko's stomach started to grumble.

"Hee hee hee…well you can't blame me, this just shows that we're missing dinner and my stomach isn't too happy about it. Can't we finish up and go get some food please…" Natsuko pleaded using her irresistible puppy eyes that never fails before.

"Okay okay… just a little bit more and we're finish then we can all go for dinner, my treat."

"Yay!!! Baa-chan's the best…"

"But no ramen. You and Gaara are still growing so you'll both need more nutrients other than what ramen has and no arguing." Iruka stood firm with his decision. The lack of support on her side kept her from continuing her protest.

"Now that we got that settle, Natsuko you should know that the jounin team are rotated every few months, this is to optimise their teamwork with different jounins. So if you ever want to join a team, just let me know I should be able to arrange something for you."

"Okay. Baa-chan but I doubt so, I'm planning to look through the manor's library to see if there's any way I could do anything about Shukaku or if there's a way for both of us to enter Shizenkai since Shukaku was on the council if we combine our chakra along with both Ero-sennin and Baa-chan's chakra we might just be able to but I still need to run through this with Kyuu to see if it's doable I wouldn't want us dying even if he means getting us to Shizenkai.

I was also wondering you know about me being like this…I should let the rookie 9, Neji's old genin team and the Konohamaru corps know about my transformation as well as Kyuu but-"

"I believed that they won't mind it and if really they do. It would only strengthen the fact that they were never your true friends if they couldn't accept it. But no matter what you must remember that you'll always have us." Iruka said trying to ease Natsuko's worries.

"Yeah, I'll arrange for them to be here tomorrow so you can tell them yourself, don't worry too much I don't think they'll mind it and if the guys dare look at you any differently I'll personally introduce them to my fist." Tsunade along with Iruka and Gaara grunting in agreement, Jiraiya on the other hand having the chance to meet with Tsunade's fist hours ago wasn't keen on saying anything.

"Thanks you all."

0.0


	5. Chapter five

Title: The Transformation

Pairing: Not confirmed yet, open for suggestions

Rating: PG-13 - R

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto this is merely for entertainment purposes.

'_Italic' _Thoughts

"…." Speech

'**Bold'** Kyuubi talking

0.0

CHAPTER FIVE

0.0

The morning air was crisp and cold yet the streets of Konoha were bustling with activity as everyone began their day. Iruka could be seen scrambling around the streets finding the people that Natsuko requested yesterday. At the moment, he was making his way to the Taijutsu School where he knew he would surely be able to find a certain duo at this hour of the day.

Iruka knew that he was nearing the school when he heard, "The Fire of Youth is burning immensely in you Lee. You have once again exceeded your own limits. It won't be too long before you would catch up with me."

"Yosh! Sensei I'll not let you down or I'll run around Konoha one hundred times without stopping and if I can't, I'll do one thousand sit-up and if I fail, I'll do one thousand push-up and if-" Lee exclaimed.

"Gai, Lee, your presence are required at the Hokage Tower, there's something that Tsunade-sama would like to address. But before you go would it be possible to help me gather the others that are required too?"

"Yosh! Of course we would! The Springtime of Youth is GREAT!" Lee said with Gai agreeing.

"Thank you. Gai, I would need you find Kakashi and Asuma. When you do so, tell them to gather their students, the Rookie nine. And leave Kakashi last to inform, follow him while he gathers his students. With his tardiness who knows what time the meeting would start so I need you to make sure he arrives on time. Lee, I would need you to find Tenten, Neji and Hinata. Find Hinata and Neji first then tell Hinata to find Kurenai and her old team-mates before you search for Tenten with Neji. I'll need to find the Konohamaru crops. Once you find the people, tell them to report to the Hokage Tower."

"Ah! My eternal rival may think its hip to arrive late. But I must let him know that it is no longer hip to do so. Now the hip way is to arrive early!" Iruka cautiously moved away from the green-spandex clad men. With that, the three dispersed to carry out what they're supposed to do.

0.0

"We heard about your spar with the Uchiha brat, so after all these years did you manage to figure out how to counteract against the Sharingan?" Jiraiya asked Natsuko the moment Gaara and her walked into the office.

"Yeah, when I was staying in Junkei, I brought up the issue about the Sharingan. As you know, the Sharingan has a few known abilities. The first and most well known ability is to memorise any technique that it is a witness to. It can memorize Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu with perfect accuracy and allow the user to use the techniques, as long as they have the necessary resources to do so. Secondly, it is capable of a unique brand of hypnosis that involves suggesting actions and thoughts to the opponent. Thirdly, it can see through Genjutsu, the level of which is possibly dependent on the user's skill. Lastly, it has the ability to predict an opponent's movement as well as allowing the sight of fast moving objects with greater clarity.

Together with my grandfather and some of the elders in the clan, we were only able to counteract against the Sharingan's ability to memorise any technique. We exploited the loophole where the user has to see the seals of a technique when the Sharingan is activated in order to copy it. However we weren't sure it would work on a Sharingan user hence the main reason I agreed to the spar with Sasuke was to test the jutsu that we invented to counteract the Sharingan."

"Quit stalling and tell us what you used against the Uchiha."

"Okay okay, hold your horses Ero-sennin, I was just about to tell. The jutsu we came up with is able to distort the actual image of the seals needed for a jutsu. For example, the Kuchiyose no jutsu required 5 seals for summoning: boar, dog, bird, monkey and sheep. However, if I were to perform the Distortion skill first, any seals perform afterwards would be garbled whereby it would render the seals performed mix up or distort to such an extent that it is incomprehensible to others. It was a success since Sasuke looked confused when I was performing the seals to reinforce my chakra dome.

However, we weren't able to negate the other effects of the Sharingan or prevent it from copying taijutsu. Since we did not have enough knowledge about how the Sharingan actually works to come up with a countermeasure and we didn't think that distorting the image of an entire person would be feasible as the justu was only supposed to be applied to the hands where the chances of being detected is rather low. I was thinking maybe I could get either Sasuke or Kakashi-sensei and maybe Hinata or Neji to help me out."

"_Kakashi_ was never your sensei, Natsuko. As your sensei, I forbid you to address him as such."

"But Ero-sennin, Kakashi _was_ my sensei when I was in Team 7. How could you say that he wasn't?"

"Natsuko, he was only your jounin _instructor_ for Team 7. He never did teach you anything except maybe tree climbing and that certainly doesn't make him a sensei. If you insist on calling him your sensei, it would be an insult to Iruka, the others and I that did _teach_ you." Jiraiya insisted he was determined to make Natsuko understand his reasoning.

"I see. Does that mean that I should address him as Hatake-san?"

"You should Natsuko, he may not be your sensei but he's still your elder and you should respect him." Gaara answered surprising both Tsunade and Jiraiya. Both of them had forgotten all about him seeing as he hadn't spoken a word ever since he arrived.

"Yeah, I guess you should unless he asks you to address him otherwise. Have you thought of how much you want to reveal later on?" Tsunade asked.

"I was thinking of letting them know about Kyuu, about my actual gender and the names of my parents since not many people know that Kazama Arashi is actually the Fourth. But I'm will not divulge where I've been these past three years. Everyone is under the impression that I have been training with Ero-sennin except for you and Iruka-sensei that is. I do not want the knowledge of that Junkei really exist being disclosed, that may led to unwanted questions I'm unable to answer."

"Do you think it's wise to reveal so much? You haven't seen them for five years, how could you be certain that what you disclosed wouldn't come back and bite you later on." Gaara questioned.

"All I could say is that I trust them, it's the same as to why I trust you Gaara. Even if it does come back and bite me, I'll still have you with me to deal with the mess. So I won't worry too much about it." Crystal blue eyes teeming with amusement sobered up as she continued. "Moreover if I'm not going to mention about Kyuu, how am I going to explain about the change in my gender?"

"The names of your parents shouldn't matter much since only the council and a few individuals know the actual names of your parents." Jiraiya said.

0.0

Kakashi was not having a good day. First Gai shows up at his door and had proceed to drag him out of bed when he had just gotten in it a few hours ago. Next he was being dragged half way across Konoha to look for Sakura and Sasuke. Not to mention their irritation at seeing him, Sakura's fawning over Sasuke and Sasuke scowling at him. And to make matters worse, throughout the whole journey he had to listen to Gai boasting about his prize student, Lee. This was just not his day. He knew he should have locked the blasted door before going to bed. They had finally reached the Hokage Tower and were headed toward the mission room. To his surprise, the mission room was completely packed with people ranging from jounin to genin. Kakashi spotted many recognizable faces. Everyone that Natsuko had mentioned yesterday at the meeting. From the Rookie 9 and their sensei to Neji's old genin team and their sensei and lastly the Konohamaru corps, had all assembled in the mission room. Jounins and chuunins alike were wondering what could be so important for them to be here at this time of the day. While the genins, the Konohamaru's crops were wondering if their team was finally getting a C-ranked mission.

"Yosh! Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast is here! And so is his Eternal Rival! The meeting can start now!" Gai put an arm around him. Thankfully, most of the veterans knew enough of Gai and his eccentrics to ignore him. However Konohamaru crops didn't and stared they did while Kakashi fought the urge to discard his nonchalant persona and run, instead he just took out his beloved book and started to read. It was only then that he noticed the atmosphere within the room.

Tension was high with Shikamaru and Sasuke were staring at each other from across the room. Ever since Chouji's death, the Rookie 9 and Neji's old genin team were different from before. Ino and Shikamaru had dealt with the death of Chouji the worst as compared with the others. Both of them and Sasuke seemed to be at each other throats every time they meet. While they blame Sasuke for Chouji's deaths Sasuke on the other hand, loathe Shikamaru since he was the one that led the retrieval team which subsequently led to his house-arrest for two years.

Everyone had changed over the five years, some for the better, others for the worse especially after the news of Sasuke's abandonment during the invasion of Konoha had spread all over the village. People started to treat the last Uchiha in Konoha differently. Some weren't as forgiving as others. They didn't know whether they could trust him seeing as he had left the village so easily because of power. Even his fan-girls had been reduced to half the previous numbers.

0.0

"Just a little heads up before we go in. Chouji had died about a month after you left."

Chouji was in the Sasuke's retriever mission. He was seriously injured that even up till the time when she left, he was still under the intensive care. Natsuko never knew what had happened to him ever since then. Silent tears started to fall as she remembered the good old days when she would spend with Chouji, competing about who could eat the most ramen at Ichiraku, then stuffing their stomachs with so much ramen that they would puke or when Chouji would chase after her just because she took a packet of his numerous titbits.

"So… H-how did Chouji die? He seemed fine before I left, what happened?'

"In the fight to retrieve Sasuke, Chouji was forced to use multiple Houren Pills for the unmitigated power it would provide but it was much more dangerous than he first estimated it to be. He never thought that it could be perilous to take so many pills at one time. A month after you left, his condition took a turn for a worse due to an allergic reaction to the medication. No one had expected that to happen, it was too sudden that even I wasn't able to save him, it was already too late by the time we found out."

"I see." Her voice deprived of any emotions, the information she received was still being process.

While Natsuko was regaining her bearings, Iruka had come to inform them that the people Natsuko had requested had just arrived.

0.0

Tsunade walked in followed by Jiraiya, Iruka, Gaara and lastly an unknown girl who looked seemingly familiar like a certain blond. Natsuko was discussing with Kyuubi the best way to reveal her identity to her friends when she felt everyone's eyes on her. Snapping out of her thoughts, she whipped her head around to look back at her forgotten audience. A quick sweeping glance confirmed the fact that everyone was indeed staring at her. However there was no indication that their staring was affecting her, instead her expression radiates a sense of confidence and power.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the unknown girl that just entered, a dark scowl directed at her when he recognised her from the match yesterday. His eyes softened however when she turned around and gave a sheepish grin directed at him. _'How could I stay mad at a smile like that? And why is she with the Hokage? She seems to intrigues me more every minute.' _Sasuke wondered.

Looking at her sun-kissed hair flowing down her back curved around her face framing it in a graceful oval-shape he had to admit, he was falling in lo- NO! He was an avenger! He couldn't possibly be falling in love. He had an ambition to fulfil but she seemed different from the other girls that he had seen. For one she was not fawning over him because of his looks nor was she blushing or drooling either.

Meanwhile Shino was holding a kikai bug in front of his face listening intently, sending the unknown girl discreet looks behind his sunglasses. Kiba on the other hand was kneeling beside Akamaru who had grown too big to fit on his head. The strangest thing was that it seemed Akamaru knew just who the unknown girl was. He was now frowning at whatever Akamaru was saying, it wasn't possible that the girl in front of them was Naruto. Not believing Akamaru, he took a few hesitant sniffs in the girl's general direction, his eyes to widen in surprise at the unique smell of his blond friend which the girl in front of him was now emitting.

Neji was standing stoically between Shikamaru and Kiba his eyes not once moving his view away from the unknown girl when Kiba whispered to him about the girl standing before them. His eyes narrowed as he slowly scrutinized her. She did look familiar and her smile was strangely recognizable.

"Byakugan!"

Natsuko jumped back in surprise, she had not expected them to find out about it this way. She felt Gaara's hand on her shoulder steadying her.

"What is going on…Naruto?"

"WHAATTT!!!!!"

"What do you mean Neji-niisan?"

"Your nose was right after all, Akamaru. I know, I know, I'll buy that toy that you wanted, is that okay?"

"Bark, bark bark…."

"My kikai bug told me the same thing."

"Naruto!!! What the hell do you think you are doing walking around in that stupid sexy no jutsu? Haven't you grown up after all these years? Don't tell me you thought this is funny? Drop the henge right this instant! When will you ever grow up? This is the reason why everyone in the village hates you. If you would stop all the pranks they would not have such negative feelings towards you!!!"

'Smack'

Hinata had slapped Sakura right across the face. Everyone was shock by the daring move the shy Hyuuga heiress had made. Some had just gaped at the scene before them.

"Do _NOT_ insult Naruto." Her voice was both firm and imposing, over the years the shy heiress had grown out of her shell but never once showing the poise of an heiress should have until now.

Natsuko turned toward her former team mate, hurt flashed pass her face at Sakura's accusations. She bit her bottom lip but didn't say anything as she felt Gaara tighten his grip on her shoulder. Jiraiya and Iruka however had stepped forward placing themselves right beside Natsuko and Gaara.

"It is not a henge."

"What?"

Everyone was now staring at the Hyuuga heiress. "She is not using chakra. It is really Naruto, I remembered the unique chakra system that Naruto had during our first chuunin exam. Unlike anyone, Naruto is the only one who has two chakra sources in his system, Neji-niisan can testify to what I have just said." She said quietly while letting her own Byakugan to fade away.

Everyone except those that knew the truth looked to the Hyuuga prodigy as he nodded. "It's true. During our match in the chuunin exam, I noticed that when Naruto had exhausted his chakra he was still able to call upon a dormant source of chakra within him. As far as I can tell this is the real deal, the girl in front of us is the real Naruto, no one is able to replicate that sort of chakra no matter how."

"But how is that…possible?"

"Hokage-sama…who is she?" Hinata finally asked the question that everyone was thinking.

Throughout the whole outburst, Gaara remained silent beside her, his hand rubbing small circles on her lower back as a sign of support. The time had come however to explain everything, after taking a deep breath, in soft measured tone she spoke, "My name is Uzumaki Natsuko. However, I have been known as Uzumaki Naruto for the past 14 years. We are the same person. It was only three years back that I discovered that a jutsu was placed upon me since I was a baby, I am actually a girl."

Everyone that did not already know the truth was taken aback by the truth. A loud cough interrupted their tirade causing them to turn back toward the Hokage and fell silent once more.

"As I was saying before I was painfully interrupted, this meeting today is about Uzumaki Naruto or better known as Uzumaki Natsuko today. As you all know she left five years ago…." With that Tsunade had surmised about Kyuubi being sealed in Natsuko as well as the reason why Natsuko had to leave. Although she had never mention the details about the fight between Natsuko and Sasuke just that the fight was the cause of the seal breaking. At this point everyone except Sakura glared at the last Uchiha in the room seeing as he was the reason why Natsuko had to leave the village. The Hokage then proceed to mention that the seal had been fixed causing the jutsu that was placed upon her to be removed. Again, she did not go into details of the five years that Naruto had been through seeing as it was personal and she herself did not know all the details either.

After Tsunade was finished, the younger generation was in deep thoughts. They had at one point or another wondered why Naruto had been treated the way he had around the village but had never contemplated any further on the matter.

"That explains the immense power during the fight with Haku, in the forest of death, the fight with Gaara, the fight with me on the hospital roof top and lastly our last fight 5 years ago! I should have known. How could a dobe like you even beat me if you didn't use the Kyuubi's power?" Sasuke mocked. His tone was clear that he still couldn't get over the fact that the dobe had such a great power within him. He was jealous that a dead last like Naruto had the power that he didn't need.

"Hell yeah! Sasuke-kun is always the strongest! Even if the Kyuubi sealed in you, a dobe like you could never be able to beat him at all!" Sakura yelled, allowing her inner Sakura to surface. "But naturally we shouldn't expect you to defeat Sasuke-kun at all, why would it give you power willingly, you must have found a way to use its power by force. Things would be totally different if it was being sealed in Sasuke-kun, there is no way it wouldn't give Sasuke-kun its power willingly. Just think he won't even have gone to Orochimaru if he had that kind of power, he would have stayed with me!"

'_If only I had that power, I would have gained father's recognition and favour instead of Itachi. If I had that power, I would be able to defeat Itachi. I would be able to make use of its power to the fullest unlike now because of that seal on my neck I'm unable to fully develop my potential. It is not fair, it's not like she needs the power at all unlike me, I'm the one that needs the power why couldn't I have been the one to possess the Kyuubi.'_ Sasuke contemplated not realising that he had unconsciously voiced his thoughts out, unaware that Sakura had finished her rant and that everyone was staring at him.

"You think its great having some thing in you that you yourself didn't even know for twelve years. Have you ever wake up every morning knowing that your very existence was a mistake, that you're being hated by your whole village that they can't wait for you to just drop dead. Or the ostracism given to you wherever you go, not to mention to the murderous glares and malicious words directed towards you for your entire life just because of something you have no control over! You might have experienced a glimpse some of those things over these past few years but it was your choice to go to Orochimaru that triggered it. You'll never know how it even feels to be me…" Natusko directed her anger towards Sasuke, unable to contain her emotions. Gaara was now holding her tightly in his arms in an attempt to comfort her.He looked down at the girl. Her cerulean eyes were brimming with soft salty tears at the corners. Out of everyone present he was probably the only one who could understand the best, why the blonde was so bothered by this now even after so many years.

Shikamaru could not stand Sasuke sprouting nonsense. He felt that he had to defend Natsuko especially after everything she had been through. "Shut it Uchiha! Even without the Kyuubi, Natsuko is still stronger than you. You are foolish to think that the only way to measure your strength is determined by how many people you _have_ killed. This is the reason why you were never able to surpass your current level. To think that you're a genius, you don't get the true meaning of being strong. Do you really think you can measure up against Natsuko? Do you have any idea how hard it was being the vessel of the Kyuubi?

In our batch of genins, the Kyuubi being sealed in Natsuko was the right choice. If it ever were to be sealed in you Uchiha, you'll use it for your revenge on your brother while the old Neji would have used it to destroy the main house. As for me, it'll be too troublesome to control it. The rest of us don't have the strong will to ever think of controlling the Kyuubi and would have ended up being controlled instead. No offence to you Gaara. But remember the Gaara during the chuunin exam, do you honestly say that you won't turn out like that. I for one can't say that I won't _want_ to take revenge on the village if they had treated me the way they treated Natsuko, hell that _would_ even justified any reason for me to take revenge on Konoha." Everyone else in the room was contemplating the truth behind what Shikamaru had said. They only had to think back to the treatment given to Natsuko and the Gaara during the chunnin exam with the killer instinct to see that they were truly lucky that Natsuko had never thought of revenge on Konoha but instead did everything within her means and much more to protect it.

While Shikamaru was analysing why Natusko was the appropriate host for the Kyuubi, Sakura turned to study the seemingly familiar blonde. '_It is true that while she did hold a startling resemblance to Naruto's sexy no jutsu form, there are also some noticeable differences. Her structure is more petite, almost delicate in a sense but there are also lean muscles on her body. Her curves were also less exaggerated and her long blonde hair is loose and hanging down her back. Overall she has the perfect kunoichi look that I had always tried to acheived. She seemed strong enough to handle any problems she would encounter but at the same time delicate enough that people would want to protect her. It's not fair that the loudmouth idiot is actually a girl and a prettier one than me! How could that be, life is so unfair! Even Sasuke-kun seemed interested in her, everyone may not have noticed but I did. I saw how Sasuke-kun looked at her even after knowing her true identity. I should be the only one he is interested in not her. But if Naruto was actually Natsuko then why the hell did she had a crush on me, it doesn't make sense._'

"If you're a girl why the hell did you keep pestering me for a date? You're just a perverted cross-dresser!" Sakura shrieked, effectively breaking everyone out of their thoughts.

"I'm sorry Sakura but I would have to say that I never had a crush on you back then. Back then I was always alone yet you always had people surrounding you, I guess I was envious of you and wanted you to be my friend. Since I never had any friends before, I mistook the feelings that I like you as a friend for something deeper. I hope that would answer your question." Sakura face darkened a few shades.

"Face it Sakura, the only thing you're upset about the whole situation is because Natsuko 'crush' on you isn't real, you were elated when Natsuko had a 'crush' on you. It allowed you to feel superior for some reason which I'll never understand. You're no longer the girl I met when we were young. The girl I met would never make fun or humiliate people just because they're different. You're no different from those boys that would make fun of your forehead when we were younger!" Ino retorted before Sakura could say anything to that would hurt Natsuko's feelings again.

Hinata on the other hand was having a debate about Natusko in her mind, '_Now that Naruto-kun is actually Natsuko-chan does that mean that I don't stand a chance with her? Why must my only crush actually be a girl? Maybe just maybe she might be into both sexes. She WAS a guy for a longer period of time. But she did just told Sakura-chan that she never had a crush on her yet she never did denied nor admitted which way she lean toward now did she?' _

"Yosh! Natsuko so what are you to do now that you're back? The springtime of youth must not be wasted!" said Lee successfully breaking the tension.

"Natusko here would be joining the jounin ranks as of today. However she would not be joining any teams for the moment." Tsunade replied.

"Why is she able to be a jounin the moment she comes back?"

"Natusko was actually a jounin since three years ago. Evers since after the retrieval mission Natsuko, Kiba and Neji were promoted to chunnin. It was never announced to you all because it was never necessary. Within the two years that Natsuko and Jiraiya travelled they had completed enough missions to be considered for the position of jounin. Are there any more questions? After this, I expect everyone here to not hound Natusko for any answers. If she wants to tell you all anything, she will at her own time. Know this, the topic of the Kyuubi is still a taboo and if you are ever caught talking about it, you _will _face serious consequences. If nobody has any questions you are dismissed."

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Sorry to all Sakura fans, this story may not have been to your liking…


	6. Chapter six

Title: The Transformation

Pairing: Not confirmed yet, open for suggestions

Rating: PG-13 - R

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto this is merely for entertainment purposes.

'_Italic' _Thoughts

"…." Speech

'**Bold'** Kyuubi talking

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CHAPTER SIX

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"Yosh, we should throw Natsuko a welcoming back party while the Fire of Youth is Burning immensely!"

"Yeah we have a lot of catching up to do that's for sure. You all will have to bring me up to date on everything that has been going on behind the walls of Konoha these past five years."

"Before you all leave, I want the former Team seven to stay behind for a while. The rest of you can plan where you want to hold your welcoming back party while waiting at Ichiraku. Sakura, Sasuke, I need you both to wait outside until I call you." Gaara reluctantly followed the rest after Natsuko assured him that nothing could possibly happened with Tsunade here. None of them had noticed that while Natsuko was reassuring Gaara, Sasuke was eyeing Natsuko with an unreadable gleam in his eye.

"What is he dobe, your keeper?"

"None of your business teme." The response however brought about a slight twitch to Sasuke's lips.

When everyone had left the mission room, Tsunade motioned Natsuko to take a seat before starting, "The council has been informed of your return and have demanded to see you tomorrow morning. Although they were not aware that you have been missing for the past three years, they wish to evaluate you to see if you're any threat to Konoha."

"Evaluation my ass, more like an interrogation. Those old geezers are just trying to find an excuse to throw me out of Konoha if that's ever possible. If not, then it's to determine if they are able to utilise of me to boost Konoha's strength to a higher level due to the numerous high level missions I had completed over the past few years before my 'disappearance'."

"I know that they are a pain in the ass but always remember this Natsuko, you still have a trump card with you that you could use if need be. Although, not everyone in the council had been in favour of Arashi being the Yondaime due to his age and his inexperience in politics, they still respected the immense power that he was able to wield. The Uzumaki and the Kazama alone are already a formidable force to be dealt. Yet not much is known about them due to their secrecy over the past few decades, you can use this to your advantage.

Don't let them intimidate you. Just remember to never show any weakness in front of them and to keep your cool when dealing with those archaic voyeurs during the meeting tomorrow and you should be fine. Now get out of here, I'm sure everyone must be anxious to hear about your escapades. So shoo, and ask Sakura in on your way out brat."

"Thanks Baa-chan, I'll keep that in mind." Natsuko said with a smile.

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"Sakura let this be my last warning to you. If you are unable to pass the upcoming medic evaluation, I'm afraid that you would be force to leave the academy. I have given you sufficient chances to prove yourself. This is already your fourth time sitting for the exams. It seems to me that you are more interested in getting Uchiha's attention then in improving the arts of a shinobi. Perhaps you should revaluated your priorities before deciding if being a kunoichi is really what you want to be.

You may think that this may seems unfair to you as you're from a non-shinobi clan but you should know that even those who weren't from any shinobi clans, they still managed to pass the exam the second or third round. And there is also the fact that you have never put in any effort to pass the medic exam. If you did, you would have at least shown up for the remedial lessons provided to those that did not make the evaluation.

I advise you now Sakura, if you are really interested in becoming a medic-nin to study hard for the evaluation. If you have any problems you can always approach your sempai. However, if you decide that being a medic-nin is not your aspiration, I want you to give up now. A medic-nin has a significant position in a team. It is _not_ a leisure pursuit. I will not endanger my any shinobi that would be placed in the same team as you if you're not able to focus on the job. So even if you were to pass this evaluation, I would still place you on inactive duty until your priority has been sorted. If you do not have any other questions regarding you evaluation, please ask Sasuke to come in."

Storming out of the room while mumbling under her breath how the situation was totally against her. How was she supposed to get any studying done when she had to think of ways to get Sasuke-kun to notice her? It wasn't like he would notice her if she knew how to make a burn salve or if she could name the ways one could stimulate the tenketsu or even know which point to press to lessen the pain right?

It just wasn't fair that Natsuko, the little tramp could capture everyone's attention including her beloved Sasuke-kun in the short spans of time that she had been back. She was the one that Sasuke-kun should be interested in, not her!

Meanwhile back at the Hokage mission room.

"Sasuke, I have received your request to be promoted to jounin. From the reports that I have received by your team mates and the Anbu guarding you, it is obvious although your skill are on par as of a jounin. However the vendetta with your brother has been clouding your judgement in several missions whereby you were unable to meet the objective. In addition, there is also the fact that you do not work well in a team, you are always either going against your team leader or trying to take the lead. You should know that if you're still unable to fit in with your team, you would not be able to take on any missions as you would be endangering your team-mates. With that your request to be promoted has been rejected. I would advise you to change in your attitude if you want to be promoted."

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After the impromptu meeting with Tsunade, the trio met their way to Ichiruka where the rest of the gang were waiting.

"Over here, Natusko! We've already starting ordering! Don't you and your hanger-on have somewhere else to be, Uchiha?" Kiba exclaimed, the last part directed towards Sasuke and Saukura when he saw them following behind Natsuko.

"It's not like we fancy being here dog-boy. If it's not because Natsuko who dragged us here we wouldn't even step a foot in a dingy place such as this. Humph! You think I even appreciated being here?"

"Since that's how you feel, you do know that there is really no need for you come here. You're the 'thing' that's infecting the area solely with your presence. Look around you Sakura you're the one that's garnering those looks of contempt, not us. If you want to leave so much, why don't you just do so?"

"Hn."

"Come on Sasuke-kun, we should leave this place before we get infected with something."

Sasuke surveyed the scene with a grimace. Although he didn't like big gatherings but if that's the only way he could see and know what had been happening to _his_ dobe these past few years then naturally he would stay put. With that thought in mind he proceeded to find a seat.

Sakura thought that she had shown them up when she saw Sasuke had sat down on one of the stools and place his order. Seeing that even her beloved Sasuke-kun was not on her side, she just left in a fit of anger while mumbling under her breath about how she would get her revenge on the humiliation that Natsuko had caused her. _'It is entirely that stupid bitch's fault. Ever since she came back, everyone has been fawning over her like she's some kind of personage. No one even bothers about the fact that she had deceived us about her true identity all these past few years. But it __**does**__ seem like she had just found out the truth as well. Well she must have learnt how to act as well. All that fake tears and such, it must have been to get the sympathy of everyone especially Sasuke, but I won't be fool by her feint. I'll show everyone, in the end I would be one having the last laugh. Humph, to think they could humiliate me in front of so many people!'_

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Meanwhile back at the restaurant, Natsuko was trying to placate everyone, "Come on you all, it's not like she really meant it either right? And we're here to bring me up to date with all that's happened these past few years I've been away. So let's not let this affect our mood!"

"Yosh! Natsuko is right. The Fire of Youth is burning within her is astonishing! We should make full use of this chance before the fire is diminished!"

With that, the dead cold tension of the room had lessened. It seemed Natsuko was still the life of any gathering for within minutes, she had the crowd listening intently to the adventures she had encountered during her travels. Naturally, she had edited out what had happened at Junkei, even Gaara didn't know everything about the hidden village.

However, when it came to Jiraiya and his research, their reactions were varied. The girls were appalled of the behaviour of a Sennin while the Kiba was laughing at some of the tactics Jiraiya had tried. Gaara and Sasuke on the other hand were both furious, both contemplating the ways one could castrate a person if that old pervert ever manage to peek at Natsuko.

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	7. Chapter seven

Title: The Transformation

Title: The Transformation

Pairing: Not confirmed yet, open for suggestions

Rating: PG-13 - R

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto this is merely for entertainment purposes.

'_Italic' _Thoughts

"…." Speech

'**Bold'** Kyuubi talking

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CHAPTER SEVEN

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Storming away from Ichiruka, Saukra was mumbling under her breath how everything seems to revolve around Natsuko now that she was back. _She _was supposed to the centre of attention not that little tramp. But everything seemed to have fallen apart the moment _she_ was back. Tsunade-sensei had singled her out for the upcoming medic-nin evaluation. Sasuke refused to take her side at Ichiruka. Ino and all her friends or rather who she thought were her friends were making fun of her instead of helping her. They of all people should know that with the Kyuubi being sealed in Natsuko, she is a danger to them all. Especially if the seal that the Fourth had placed on her had been able to weaken before, what was stopping it from weakening again? No one had understood the meaning behind it. Natsuko should be put down before she could cause more harm. But instead, it had seemed as if someone had blindfolded all of them. Since everyone seemed to regard her as some kind of hero.

"If no one is going to do anything, I guess it's up to me then." Sakura smirked. She had plans to destroy Natsuko completely. And if the death of Natsuko would cause Sasuke to hate her, she would accept it for it wouldn't be long after Natsuko's death that he would be grateful for it and perhaps even realised that the love of his life is in front of him all along.

Now she just needed some help to put her plan in motion. Sakura was just about to enter her room, when she caught sight of her mother in the living room. Surely, her mother would be able to help her with her plan. She had remembered her mother was the first person to show her hatred towards Natsuko especially the time when Team 7 was formed.

"Mother, I have something of importance to discuss with you." Sakura started the conversation. She would need to determine the reason behind hatred towards Natsuko before she could discuss her plans further. "I have recently been told of the biggest secret that everyone in Konoha have been keeping silent for seventeen years." That should start the ball rolling Sakura thought.

"Yes…this secret that you speak of Sakura, does it have to do with a baby boy and a fox?"

It would seemed that her mother knew what she was talking about but was reluctant to speak of it, perhaps she just needed a few prompting in the right direction from her beloved daughter. "Yes mother. It would seem that the baby boy was actually a baby girl in disguise, and apparently she had just return to her home. Mother, I need to know why you resent this baby girl."

"Sakura, during the attack seventeen years ago, my brothers, your uncles, and the only other family I had were killed. I know it isn't right for me to place the blame on the baby. But if your family had been killed…"

"Mother, I understand. I'm not blaming you for your resentment. In fact I need your help in bringing down this baby girl." With the knowledge that her mother had just presented, she was secured in letting her know of the meeting that had taken placed earlier in the day as well as her plans to bring about Natsuko's downfall.

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At the same time, while Sakura was plotting with her mother over at the Haruno's household, things were going rather well at Ichiruka. The rest of the former Rookie nine and Neji's old genin team had told her what had happened over the five years when Natsuko was gone.

Kiba and Neji who were being promoted to chuunin shortly after the peace had returned to Konoha. Shino, along with Tenten had passed the exam a year later when the chuunin exams were resumed. Hinata, Ino, Lee, Sakura and Sasuke on the other hand had passed only on the second year after the invasion, incidentally the year that Sasuke's house arrest had ended.

During their talk, Natsuko saw that everyone was not as close as they had once been in the past. It seemed that they had all split up into several smaller groups. Shikamaru and Ino were still close, mainly to do with their close family ties. In addition, it would appear that Shikamaru had become a hermit of sorts.

She had gathered that Kiba, Shino, Tenten had been promoted to a jounin just under a year while Neji and Shikamaru had been a jounin for nearly two years. The rest were still at chuunin level, however many of them had branched out. Ino was an academy teacher while Hinata was a medic-nin who was about to be promoted to a jounin. Lee on the other hand had been forced to retire after the chuunin exam when his old injuries were aggravated and was now teaching taijutsu at the Taijutsu School.

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"Natsuko…I need to speak with you for a moment." Ino said as the others walked into a weapon shop, directing her to a nearby bench instead.

"Sure Ino. What is it you want to speak to me about?"

"I assumed that you noticed how Shikamaru was during lunch just now. It's just…after the death of Chouji… Even though both he and I were badly affected by the news, Shikamaru took the news worst. He had isolated himself from almost everyone save for a selected few after the Chouji's funeral.

He's depressed without a doubt, but for the past five years, he has turned into a living corpse. His eyes are hollow even now you could still see the haunted look in his eyes, the thought that he had failed his friend haunts his every waking hour. You could just imagine the stress he had been on. I heard from his parents that they were thinking of taking him off active shinobi duty for a while so that his family could help him with the depression. But I think taking him off active duty now would do more harm than good. The only good thing that came out of Chouji's death was that Shikamaru had become more seriously about his work. Especially if you saw how fast he was promoted to chuunin team leader followed by the promotion to a jounin. My dad had said that there have been talks about promoting him to a team leader but…"

When it was clear that Ino had no intention of continuing, Natsuko had decided to ask, "So what do you expect me to do? If you, someone who have known Shikamaru since you two were babes couldn't get through to him, what makes you think that I could?"

"I know you can Natsuko, because during the meeting, it was the first time since five years that Shikamaru had spoken without being directed at. I know that if anyone could do it, it would be you Natsuko! There was this spark in his eyes when he defended you, a spark no one had ever seen since five years ago. Please Natsuko, I beg you. At least just try to talk to him."

"I'll try Ino but there is no promise that I would be the one to drag him out of this depression."

"Thank you. That is all I ask for." Ino let out a relived sigh. It was all she was hoping for, a chance to bring back the former Shikamaru. Although she herself had hoped that eventually she would be the one to bring him out of his depression but it seemed that it was time that she hand the task over to someone more capable.

Ever since Chouji's death, nothing seemed the same anymore. It was like someone had turned on the switch in her, a wake up call. No longer was she this naive person, thinking everything would be alright. Her crush on Sasuke had died out and she slowly became quieter and reluctant to socialise but over the years she had started to open up with encouragement from her family, Hinata and Tenten. Her friendship with Sakura however came to a standstill. It wasn't because she resented Sakura or even Sasuke for that matter regarding Chouji's death. Their friendship had long ago weakened due to their rivalry over Sasuke and with the events happening around her over the years, her friendship with Sakura wasn't the first thing on her mind to salvage. She had more important things to concern herself over with.

Hinata and Tenten had seen Ino take Natsuko aside and realised that she might be talking to Natsuko about Shikamaru. None of them could deny the fact that when Shikamaru jumped to Natsuko defence during the meeting there was this flicker of suppressed emotion. It was as if he was punishing himself for Chouji's death. Since Chouji can't live, neither was he allowed to either. This would explain his subconscious effort in suppressing his emotion, since he was not supposed to live either. Therefore the two of them would ensured that the guys would not interfere so as to give the them a little privacy.

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On her way back home, Natsuko was thinking of ways to talk with Shikamaru when she thought of something, "Kyuu…what was the reason Shukaku is in such everlasting rage? Was it because of being trapped in Gaara?"

"**Not exactly, I would say that the real reason is due to the sand priest that had summoned Shukaku to this world. He was power crazy to have thought that if he could were to fused with the demon he would be immortal but as he did not have the ability to soothe Shukaku after they fused, he slowly went crazy. **

**Gaara, I would say was just a recipient of an insane demon, if we are able to bring Gaara to Shizenki, the council might just be able to do something about it. The question would be the amount of Shukaku's sanity that would be preserved after being trapped in that state for decades. **

**But this recent year due to your ability, it had allowed Shukaku some kind of break from the insanity. He might just be on his way towards recovery. I suspect this is the reason why Gaara doesn't have such an arduous time controlling it lately as Shukaku seems to be helping him as well. But kit, you should know that there isn't much longer we can drag the situation. The longer we delay, the harder it would be to reverse the effects. The question now is how to bring Gaara to Shizenki. Kit the best way is to go through the ritual hence you would need to find that scroll your dad is talking about."**

"What if we were to get more people to increase the amount of charka? Would that be possible to send both Gaara and I to Shizenki?"

"**I would need to think about it kit. It has never been done before, travelling with someone to Shizenki. Every time when a council member was sent to this world, we had always travelled alone. It would be best if I have the scroll detailing the process of the ritual to see if we would be able to reach Shizenki safely."**

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"Shikamaru."

"Natsuko."

With a small sigh, Shikamaru lied back on the ground with his arms folded behind his head, making no effort to get up. He continued to watch the clouds floated by, reminiscing about the past when the sun shone brighter.

"I missed him too." She smiled at him sadly, knowing that he would know who she was referring to.

"Hn."

"You know, I find it hard to imagine that he's gone. It's just… every time I think about it, I always imagined that he would be at the barbeque store stuffing himself, not like this. You know he would never have wanted you to live your life like this when he was gone. He would have wanted you and Ino to live both your lives to the fullest. It wasn't your fault. If anyone is to be blame it should be me. I was the one…"

"No! I'm the one to blame. I was the one who allowed him to remain behind. I was the one who was not strong enough to help him. It was my fault, all my fault…"

"Shikamaru…you know that is not right. Answer me. Did you know that consuming multiple Houren Pills was deadly?"

"No. It never seemed to have been a problem with the Akimichi clan before."

"Yes, and if you had known that the usage of multiple Houren Pills would be deadly for Chouji would you have allowed him to remain behind by himself knowing that he would need to consume multiple Houren Pills?"

"No. I would never. I would have stayed behind myself or assigned a different person."

"But how would you be able to help Chouji yourself when we did not have enough people to face each enemy? Even if you were to assign him to a different enemy, how could you be sure that he won't need to consume multiple Houren Pills as he did before? There was no way to know that Chouji would have such an adverse effect towards the pills. You yourself said it the Akimichi clan had never have a problem with consuming the pills before. And you trust Chouji enough to know that he would be able to defeat the enemy, there wasn't a need to assign someone else or assign someone to help him.

You _need_ to understand his death is not your fault. You had done nothing wrong, the most you have done was to trust a friend's ability and that is not wrong. If you want blame, you should blame the doctors or me. I was the one that chose him. I was the one that did not choose enough people for the mission. The doctors did not manage to detect his allergy towards the medication. They were the ones did not manage to cure him. For all you want, you could blame Sasuke for his abandonment which led to this whole guilt trip. Not you." Natsuko ranted.

"It's not your fault nor is it the doctors' fault. I know I'm not the one to blame but I can't help it. There wasn't anything I would do differently at that time without knowing his reaction to the pills. But, it's just that! I would never see him again, it's forever!" Shikamaru replied sullenly.

"He's not gone forever you know. He still lives on in our hearts and memories. I know it's hard, but it will get better. Time lessen the pain in our heart and the losses we experienced. If you ask me, I know he is somewhere watching over us as we continue on with our lives. But only by living fully would we be respecting his death.

To do so, you will need to let go before you can move on. I'm not asking you to forget his death for it is our past that moulds us into what we are today. All I'm asking is that you acknowledge his death. That would be the first step you're taking towards recovery. There are many people that are willing to help you triumphed over this period of darkness but you have to reach out for it. No one would be able to help you if you don't help yourself first." Natsuko pointed out rationally.

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Some readers some would say its wrong how I portray Sakura just know that I do not really hate Sakura as a character but every story needs villains and she just happen to fit in perfectly for the role I need her to play. Sorry if some of you may not like it.

Let me know if there's any mistake I was rushing out the chapter to take notice of them. Thank you everyone that review.


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